Under the Tree
by Lovely-Madness-13
Summary: Aelita's lonelyness Jeremie's awkward well wishing Christmas themed mushy cute one shot! Thanks so much for reading!


"Okay...if the first coordinates didn't work, maybe...hmmm..."  
Jeremie Belpois glared half-heartedly at his notes as he walked down the hallway, blond bangs flopping against his oval glasses as he shook his head slowly. All around him, chaos reigned. Teenagers raced up and down from one dorm to another, some carrying suitcases . One of them stopped by the young genius, grinning.  
"Hey, Einstein, why aren't you getting ready to go home?"  
Jeremie blinked, then raised his blue eyes to look at Ulrich. "Oh...hey, Ulrich. What was that?" The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes.  
"H-O-M-E," he spelled sarcastically. "For Christmas. Or Chanukah. Or...um..." Seeing the blond's expression, Ulrich's smile faded. "Crap, I forgot. Your parents are on vacation."  
Jeremie shrugged. "it's better this way, actually. I've got a ton of work to finish up. And..." he shrugged again, avoiding his friend's eyes. "I'm not much for holiday's anyway."  
Ulrich raised an eyebrow. "What if Aelita kissed you under the mistletoe?" At the mention of Aelita, Jeremie's pink-haired best friend, the young genius turned bright red. Cackling, Ulrich clapped the young genius on the shoulder. "Ya know, man, you should take a break. Spend some time with Princess, at least."  
Jeremie stared at him. "I thought she was staying at Yumi's!" The thought of Aelita spending Christmas alone made his heart sink to his toes. When Ulrich shook his head, Jeremie's heart sunk even further.  
"Her parents are taking her and Hiroki to Kyoto for the holiday."  
"Which means Aelita's..." Jeremie bit his lip. He had work to do, but...he hesitated, and Ulrich smiled.  
"You do what you feel is right, man." He clapped the young genius on the shoulder again. "I gotta go pack. Have a good holiday."  
"Uh...yeah, you too," Jeremie muttered, already turning around back the way he came. Do what you feel is right, Ulrich said. Jeremie took a breath, and sped up.  
101011010101010101  
"Tomorrow will be my dancing day, la da, la dee dee...hmmmmm..."  
Even through the door, Jeremie could hear her singing softly. The sound of her voice went straight to his head, and he took a slow breath, trying to calm his suddenly racing heartbeat. She's been on Earth for more than four years, Jeremie thought, you'd think I'd get used to her by now.  
Keep dreaming, geek, muttered a voice in his head, one that sounded suspiciously like Odd's. Jeremie sighed. Yeah. He took a breath, commanded, in vain, his heart to stop pounding, and knocked.  
Silence.  
He hesitated, then knocked again. "Come in!" came the muffled reply. Smiling in-spite himself, Jeremie pushed the door open.  
"Aelita, I working on these codes and-" He stopped, confused. Where was she? "Aelita?"  
"Hello, Jeremie!" Jeremie blinked, and looked in the direction of a little Christmas tree set up on the far end of the room. Barely taller than Jeremie himself, it was decorated with a array of pink, red, green, and metallic ornaments of all shapes and sizes. Simple white lights flickered through the branches. Jeremie couldn't helps smiling a little at the sight of the tree. It was like her, brilliant, unique and bright. He heard a giggle, and moved his eyes down to the base of the tree. And stared.  
"Hello Jeremie," repeated the girl laying on the floor. She grinned at him from her strange resting place, the expression lighting up her already lovely and illuminated face. Jeremie felt his heart flip-flop, and the codes that had preoccupied his mind for the last three hours threatened to slip away.  
"I...I uh..." Think, you dork, he told himself, but instead simply stared. Aelita giggled at his confused expression and patted the spot beside her.  
"Why don't you have a rest, Jeremie?" When he started to shake his head, her smile faded a little. "Jeremie, I know you've been working on the codes all morning. Ulrich and Odd told me at breakfast." Jeremie winced a little, abruptly wishing he could find Ulrich and Odd and cuff them over the head. The more he worked, the more she worried, but...  
"Aelita," he started, trying to smile convincingly. "The codes are very important, if I don't get them worked out by-"  
"We," the pink-haired girl corrected, her serious expression a strange contrast to the bright and cheerfully off-kilter tree she was laying under. "Jeremie, you know those codes will be figured out in time. Don't worry. But, for now, you deserve a rest. It's Christmas, after all."  
"But Christmas-"  
"Is no time to be stressing yourself out, my friend," she supplied, smiling again. She's right, you know, muttered that little voice in Jeremie's head. When Aelita met his gaze and her smile widened, he gave up.  
"Well...what exactly are you doing under there anyway?" he asked her, smiling in-spite himself. How easy it was to give in to her, to make her happy. When her smile beamed out at him, he felt his heart melt.  
"The lights look beautiful from here," she stated simply, still smiling up at him. "Haven't you ever laid down under a Christmas tree? Odd said his sisters' used to do it all the time."  
Jeremie stared at her. "I...uh..." He shrugged. "No. It doesn't make sense, though. They should be viewed properly-"  
Aelita's smile widened. "Come and see for yourself then." She patted the space next to her again.  
"I...I uh..." Jeremie felt his face turn red. Lay down? Next to her? Come on, muttered that voice in his head. You know you want to. Do what you feel is right. Jeremie blushed even harder. "Uh..." He made the mistake of meeting her gaze and seeing her smile turn pleading. "A-Alright." He hesitated, then moved over to the tree, and carefully sat down next to it.  
Aelita watched him, a small, patient smile on her face. "It's like the stars decided to fall and sit in the branches," she said softly. More like the stars fell into her eyes, Jeremie thought. He blushed at the romantic notion, but it was true. The closer he got, the more angelic, yet, the more human, she seemed, the lights of the tree turning her neon green eyes to emerald. Nervous and awkward, he scooted closer and lay down a few inches away from her, smacking the back of his head against the trunk of the tree in the process. He winced, and looked her. His heart nearly stopped. Nearly nose to nose, Aelita beamed at him, then turned her eyes back up to look at the tree above her. Jeremie found it far harder to tear his eyes from her, but when he did, he gasped.  
"See?" Aelita's voice was slightly smug, but Jeremie couldn't care. She had been right.  
"It...it's beautiful." Aelita laughed softly and the obvious note of surprise in his voice. Glancing over at him, she saw the look of awe on his face, his cheeks still a little red. Smiling, she leaned over the few inches between their faces, and gently kissed his cheek.  
Jeremie's eyes went wide, and he stared at her.  
Aelita simply smiled, blushing a little. Even though she wasn't looking up, the lights reflected in her eyes. "Merry Christmas, Jeremie."


End file.
